15 Surefire Ways to Gain More Business

Kindra K., Marketing Coordinator

There was once a time where posting flyers and having an ad in a local newspaper was enough to promote your business. Today, however, customers are being marketed to in so many different ways. Whether it’s social media, SEO, video, or through the press, you need to try out new, creative ways to show customers who you are. It can be a daunting task to know where to start, so we put together the following 15 ways to promote your service.

1) Education and fun facts

Your customers are interested in what goes into the job they’re paying for. The more they know about what you do, the more they’ll understand the process and trust you. You’ll want to make sure to keep it informative, but also fun to make sure they actually read and understand it.

2) Email marketing

There are a couple of strategies for you to utilize in your email marketing.

Automatic reminder and follow up emails - Just like you, your customers all have super busy schedules. By sending reminder and follow up emails you’ll stay top of mind for your customer and prevent last-minute cancellations caused by forgotten appointments. You won’t just stay relevant to your customer, they’ll also appreciate the reminder for their appointment.

Drip Campaigns - A
drip campaign is a marketing method that involves sending marketing material to your leads, repeatedly over long periods of time. Programs like HubSpot, MailChimp, etc. have made creating these campaigns easier than ever.

Make sure you make your customers are actually opening your emails with a subject line that peaks their curiosity, but also creates a sense of urgency. Remember your customers are getting hundreds of emails a week with the average open rate being 24.19% and only 5.89% of those customers clicking through to your website or landing page. This just means you’ll have to get creative in how you give them a reason to open yours.

3) Partnership promoter programs

Create a network of service professionals from different industries. By creating partnerships with other professionals you’ll develop a referral program within your network. A good way to get started with networking for your business is joining a group that’s already established, such as your local
BNI (business networking international) chapter.

4) Get free press

You don’t always have to pay for good press. Bloggers, local sites, and papers often have free options. If you offer to give them a free service in return for free press, the story will be even more personal.

5) Go live on Facebook or Periscope

Live video is a great way to get in front of your customers in a more personable way. Show your customers what happens behind the scenes. Knowing what goes on during the job will give them peace of mind when booking you. Make sure you encourage engagement from your viewers throughout the video and share them as marketing content.

6) Set up custom audiences on Facebook

Creating a custom audience, such as a lookalike audience, on Facebook will help you reach potential customers with buying habits similar to your current customers. Click
here to get started.

7) Set up a referral system

We all know how important referrals are to a business when it comes to gaining the trust of your potential customers. A good way to drive even more referrals is to incentivize your customers to send you more new business with a referral program. Offer them a discount on their next service or send them a gift thanking them for bringing your new business.

8) Create a blog

Creating content for your customers will make you look professional and give you more credibility. Some topics you could write about are DIY maintenance tips, fun facts about your industry, or a spotlight about a large job you’ve done. Make sure you share your content with any groups on social media that your customers might be a part of.

9) Post photos of your jobs on Instagram

The majority of your customers are active on Instagram. To ensure that you’re getting in front of your audience, share before and after pictures on Instagram. Make sure to include a
few hashtags and your location so new customers can find you.

10) Create more video content and post them on YouTube

Video is one of the
best ways to get your customers attention. It’s easy for your customers to digest what you’re sharing, through a visual medium. Make sure your videos are interesting enough that your viewers will share them with their friends. Some successful tactics we’ve seen are job time-lapses, technique walkthroughs, and ‘day in the life’ videos. Your video shouldn’t just live on Youtube, make sure you share it on all your other social platforms to get more interaction and viewers.

11) Run contests

A good way to drive brand awareness is through a contest. Get creative and think outside the box when brainstorming contest ideas. Make sure your contest promotes your company and include a call to action that drives traffic towards your business. You can even give the winner a prize that promotes your business such as a discount, branded t-shirt, etc. (ex. Ask your customers to share before and after photos of the work you’ve done for them. Make sure you ask them to tag you in it and the winner gets a discount on their next service).

12) Participate in local philanthropies

An easy way to obtain more customers is having more involvement in the community you’re serving. Do pro-bono work for non-profits, or network at a charity event. You’ll reach new customers and build trust with them too.

13) Get on the radio and local television as a feature segment

Radio and television stations love to feature local small business on their shows. Send them a
pitch, showing them the value that you offer their viewers and even suggest that they come on site with you for a more interactive piece.

14) EDDM direct mailers

Through EDDM (every door direct mail) you can canvas whole neighborhoods with your marketing material. You just have to target the right geographic areas that you service, create your offer, and launch your campaign. Learn more and get started
here. Direct mailers are great for remarketing to your current customers too. Remind them to rebook a service with you or offer them a customer discount with automated postcard marketing. Pro Tip: This is a great way to ask for reviews and referrals.

15) Advertise where your customers are

Your customer demographic is mostly women, so you want to make sure you’re advertising where they consume the most media. Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook are all great platforms to reach your audience and are a great place to showcase all of the content we just discussed.

Now that you have some ideas to start with, go ahead a try a few. You don’t need to try them all at once, but you should test a few out and make sure to get creative with your campaigns. In order to ensure your campaigns are working, you’ll want to measure your results with good
unit economics. Set aside a budget for you to prove what works best before you spend too much money on one campaign. If something doesn’t work within the first week, that’s okay. You’ll need to test, iterate, and optimize your strategy over multiple weeks.